Few plants can equal the stunning blooms of a rhododendron. Like jewels on a royal crown, these queens of the shade garden are regal beauties whose stately forms add excitement to any woodland setting.
New varieties have been continuously sought after-and today they number more than 800 varieties from around the world.
Rhododendrons are fairly hardy evergreen plants that can withstand temperatures from as low as -10 degrees to over 100 degrees in the summer. The plants can range in shape from dwarfs that grow only 18″ tall, to mounding forms and upright varieties that take on a tree-like quality.
But what sets them apart from the rest of the plant world is their incredible display of blooms. The ornamental flowers appear in large clusters called trusses, with each individual flower containing protruding stamens that produce a somewhat spidery effect.
The flowers come in a myriad of colors including shades of blue, purple, lavender, red, pink, coral, white, and yellow. Some varieties produce flowers in a combination of colors. Some varieties are also fragrant.
Rhododendrons prefer a morning sun location with afternoon shade. They are an acid-loving plant that responds well when an acid soil amendment such as peat moss is incorporated into the soil before planting. They prefer a consistently moist (but not wet) soil environment and enjoy being fed with cottonseed meal or an acid food every two months-from after the blooming season has ended until early fall.
So if your shade garden is lacking pizzazz, add a few rhododendrons to the area and watch it come alive with color in the spring. With so many endearing colors to choose from, there’s a color that is bound to please even the most discriminating gardener.